Many schools on the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama have preemptively announced they will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday as a result of the excessive rainfall and high wind speeds forecast from now-Tropical Storm Gordon.
Five-day Gordon rainfall prediction (NOAA / NHC / WPC)
More than 5 inches of rain from the storm, expected to make landfall Tuesday night as a low-end Category 1 Hurricane, but only for a small area, could reach as far inland as eastern Oklahoma, according to a report on Weather Underground:
There is still some uncertainty around Gordon’s wind impacts, but given the storm’s small size and the short amount of time before landfall, any areas of hurricane-force sustained winds are likely to be confined to within roughly 30-50 miles to the east of where Gordon’s center comes ashore. Tropical-storm-force winds will be more widespread. These are capable of bringing down trees and power lines, and several deaths in recent hurricanes and tropical storms have occurred from trees falling atop homes and cars.
The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, also announced it will close Tuesday at its Gulf Coast campus. (The Hattiesburg campus itself will be closed at 6:30 PM Tuesday.) In addition, all locations of the University of West Florida will be closed Tuesday.
We advise keeping yourself posted through local media outlets and preparing to take cover if you live or find yourself in the path of this storm.
